Archive for the ‘magic’ Tag

I don’t understand invisible forces, either. I just know it’s magic when a cap is caught out of the air by a piece of wood.

Time will tell if these Magic Knife Holders (MKHs, naturally) will find their audience. Here are the first 4 out of the shop. All are 18″ long, and have loads o’ magic to capture knives & keep them stuck to the MKH.

Each MKH comes with 2 screws for mounting. Hardware is pre-installed. The provided screws will work on wallboard or in wood.

I almost sold out of Magic Bottle Openers last year. I ended the year with only 3 on hand … and since I sell several at every event, I was in trouble for this year.

Did I mention our first event is this weekend?

So, back to the shop.

For the first time, I cut the holes for the magic using the CNC. So, while I was smoothing and shaping the blanks, the CNC was saving me a few steps at the drill press. Now, every hole is perfectly drilled and perfectly placed the same way every time.

It’s not magic, but it is a really good idea!

So, here are new MBOs, just in time. With this batch, though, I’m now out of magic … my shopping list just never ends. That’s a good thing, right?

Like this:

This is part 2 of the big batch of MBOs made for the 4th quarter boutiques.

If you missed the explanation of what an MBO is, check out the previous post, here.

21 of these are double magic, or fridge mount MBOs. 16 are single magic, or wall mount versions. All will wall mount, of course.

My only remaining question is will this be enough magic for 2017 … or will I need to make another batch in November. That’s honestly what I think will happen, as these are consistently a top seller, and we have many miles to go before we can relax in January.

But don’t be fooled: when I talk about my plan for shop time in November, it’s all a fantasy. I have NO CLUE how I’m going to make what I need to make, when I’m going to make it, or how I’ll be clinging to sanity when our 4th quarter events are done. No. Clue.

Our next event is going to be just for me, the Claremont Village Venture Arts & Crafts Faire on Saturday, October 27. I did it last year as a solo act, and I’m going back for a second year … which is unusual! Solo events don’t often work out, but this one was good.

Hopefully, I’ll see you there, but if not, then please stay tuned for the next edition of The Board Chronicles!

I haven’t made a batch of Magic Bottle Openers in some time … and my inventory showed it. These things that I call MBOs are usually my top-selling item. I have a lot of fun demonstrating them, and entertain a lot of beer drinkers.

Because the reason there is a Mr M’s Woodshop is I’m having fun. Sharing the magic is just a part of that.

At left is the MBO that’s on our refrigerator. It catches the caps off of the bottles when they’re opened, of course, and it also sticks to our refrigerator.

Magic.

Not only does catching the caps please Mrs M, she’s also begun an amateur sculpting career seeing how many caps she can mold onto the wood. As her sculpture grows, inevitably I will brush it on my way past, knocking a cap onto the floor. That’s when Walter the Attack Cat pounces; he likes playing with bottle caps that have been magically held in space, just waiting for him to have fun with them.

So, now I’m having fun making. Mrs M is having fun sculpting. Walter’s having fun pouncing. What’s not to like?

I made a large batch of MBOs, but only a few made it to the finish line in time for this weekend’s event. More are coming just as soon as I can take them across the finish line. I made sure to make several that are easily personalized for your favorite beer drinker. Some of these are wall mount versions; some are fridge mounts.

Like this:

Well, I call them MBOs among the family, who have heard me talking about them enough to not want to sit through the polysyllabic formal name: Magic Bottle Openers.

I am surprised, though, that many people see these bottle openers at an event, and don’t immediately appreciate the magic. I mean, I always display the MBOs with a vertical sample that has bottle caps stuck on it magically – held in mid-air against the forces of gravity.

That’s magic.

I guess people might think those caps are glued in place, but that’s why I move them when I demonstrate the magic in the MBOs. At that point, I generally get a comment about how the MBO has an m-word in it … and I always correct the customer. Every customer.

They are MAGIC, thank you very much.

These 12x MBOs are double magic, in fact: not only will they catch your bottle caps, but they will also stick to your refrigerator, if it’s attractive. If your refrigerator isn’t attractive, though….

MBOs are approximately 5″ x 11″ x 3/4″. I use 5 different colors/styles of bottle openers, and all MBOs, even these “fridge mount” versions, are pre-drilled for wall mounting, if that’s your preference. I’ll even give you the longer screws needed to wall mount the MBO; you just remove the short screws that hold on the bottle opener, and replace them with the long screws to attach to your mounting surface.

Like this:

It’s been a glorious run. 75 days without an event meant I had time to retire to the garage woodshop, and really get to making. And then Dr H showed up, and showed me how the professionals do it.

He just recently actually retired, you see, so he’s the professional at, uh, retiring. Me, I’ve got a long way to go before I can say I don’t have a job, just a hobby. And it’s an out of control hobby, at that.

While he was here, I showed him how I do what I do for fun. He even had some fun with me, until I handed him a sander & told him to get to work.

And work he did. That’ll teach him … ’cause that boy needs teaching. And if you know him, you know what I mean.

But, unfortunately, all good things must end and Dr H’s vacation from retirement (which is confusing to me) is over and he’s now on the way home. I’m left sweeping the floors by myself … which is a good thing, as there is a lot of sawdust to clean up. Vacations are over, making is complete for now, and it’s time to get back to vendoring.

This is a solo show for me; Mrs M has concluded she may not belong at Home & Garden Shows. No matter; I’m sure that I’ll be able to find a good time. In Fresno. After all, I’m bringing the magic with me.

Like this:

This whole magic thing is out of control. With this group of Magic Bottle Openers (I call them MBOs), I have made over 200 of them this year. I anticipate my sales will be … over 200 of them this year.

See the problem?

I’m selling them just about as fast as I can make them, which is a wonderful thing from some perspectives. As long as I don’t want or need to take a day off, that is!

Mrs M has officially been made the first assistant for making these … she lays down the epoxy, and I insert the magic right behind her. That keeps the epoxy from setting before I can place the magic into the MBOs, which can be a terrible problem, I assure you.

I’ve run out of supplies again, so I went to Big Orange and bought more hardware today. I already have more magic bits on order for 2017’s first batch of these Magic Bottle Openers. More bottle openers are on the way as well; it wouldn’t do to have one without the other.

For the explanations of why these bottle openers are magic – and more pictures! – go here. All of these MBOs are approximately 5″ x 11″ x 3/4″. Pricing is simple: $35 for single magic models (wall mount), and $45 for double magic (fridge mount).

Like this:

We had a pair of good events last week … and my inventory of Magic Bottle Openers took a hit. After selling 17 bottle openers in 4 days (!), my inventory was down to 9. Nine! That’s hardly enough for a good event this weekend, much less the 6 events remaining this year.

Luckily, I had begun the work on a big batch of MBOs, as I call them, several days ago, and I had 60 more in the pipeline that is the chaos of my garage woodshop. I hurriedly moved those 60 along this week, and 20 made it to the finish line. That takes the inventory up to a respectable level for an event. Or two. By then, however, I’m going to need to have more MBOs. Good thing I have 40 more to finish!

In my spare time.

Oh, and I ordered $400 worth of magic this week (!), so you know that more of these will be coming.

When I get to it.

With my inventory dipping perilously low this week, I convinced Mrs M to give me a day off of booth duty this weekend so that I could stay home and get to making. I’ve got special orders due by Thanksgiving, I’ve got a cutting board deficit for upcoming events … and I’ve got a woodshop full of lumber to be made into something much prettier.

Sounds like a lovely weekend to me!

For the explanations of why these bottle openers are magic – and more pictures! – go here. All of these MBOs are approximately 5″ x 11″ x 3/4″. Pricing is simple: $35 for single magic models (wall mount), and $45 for double magic (fridge mount).

I’ve got a tiger by the tail with these. They are selling as fast as I can make them. Faster, really.

I made 30 that were finished last Saturday morning at our event. Today, 5 days later, 20 of them are sold. Now, that’s a really good problem to have. No complaints! But I see that I will be making a lot of these in the near future just to complete our Spring Fling!

Magic Bottle Openers are all at least 5″ x 10″ x 3/4″, though some are longer or a bit wider if that’s what the wood gives me. All will magically catch the bottle cap after you open your bottle. The Double Magic versions will also stick to your receptive refrigerator; the others are simply wall mount. Long wood screws are included with the wall mount version (or the Double Magic ones upon request) for mounting; all boards are pre-drilled. You simply remove the 2 short screws holding on the opener, and replace those screws with the longer ones of the right length for your mount.

My apologies that these photographs are not better … the shots were taken at the Rotary Art Fair last weekend, on a table in our booth before the crowds arrived. I simply ran out of gas on Friday night, and couldn’t take better shots at home with our new product photo cube. Next time.